• Appeal for a Ban: Denmark became the first country to ban ‘Trans fat’ and even New York City banned use of ‘trans fat’ in restaurants in 2006. India needs tougher regulation to force the manufacturers of food products to curtail use of Trans food. The Vanaspati ghee manufacturers need to mention the ill effects of Vanaspati ghee on the cover.
• Stop cooking in Vanaspati Ghee: Vanaspati Ghee contains high levels of trans fat and there is no benefit which we get from trans fat. With Indians being prone to coronary disease avoiding cooking in Vanaspati ghee is essential.
• Use vegetable oils: All vegetables oils like sunflower, safflower oil, groundnut oil are better than Vanaspati ghee, however olive, canola, rapeseed oil are healthier options. Around 4-5 teaspoon of oil can be consumed everyday according to nutritionists.

To read more see Say ‘No’ to Trans Fat, Dalda! Stop Heart Attacks

• Atkins Diet: Atkins recommends eating of the pure protein and fats while severely reducing the intake of carbohydrates – around 20 gms per day!
• South Beach Diet: South Beach Diet promotes consumption of low sugar carbs, which have a low glycemic index; in layman’s terms the diet promotes consumption of carbohydrates that don’t cause your blood sugar to rise or fall dramatically unlike the Atkins diet.
• Mediterranean Diet: The diet consists of food items which provide amazing health benefits for your heart and overall benefits such as the use of Olive or Canola Oil for cooking or as salad dressing and these oils contain monounsaturated fats or ‘good’ fats which are known to reduce one’s LDL cholesterol levels.

To read more see The Diet Factor- The Right Diet for you!

Start with Salads- Barbara Rolls, Ph.D., professor of nutritional sciences at Pennsylvania State University tried gave women a low fat salad containing tomato, celery, cucumber, lettuce before their meal. She found that they ate 12% fewer calories than before.

Thus one way of benefiting from these negative calorie foods is by consuming them in the raw form like in a salad before the meals. They will make you feel full, hence you will have less of your regular meal, consuming less calories overall.

Think about Proteins- Other than these natural raw vegetables and fruits, eating proteins will also help you lose weight. Proteins require twice the amount of energy to burn them than carbohydrates and they also aid muscle development which in turns helps you burn fat. Thus just increasing your protein intake will help you reduce your weight.

Healthy snacks- Did you know that just two salted biscuits contain 100 calories which will take 25 minutes of walking to burn? Thus the simplest way of burning fat is by avoiding these high calorie foods and instead eat something thus gives a feeling of fullness and is low on calories like eating an apple or any fruit, for that matter.

To read more see Negative Calorie Foods: Foods that Burn Calories

How to spot a ‘Weight loss’ Fraud:

• Anything with the words- ‘miracle, quick, tried and tested’
• Something that is not approved by FDA or any similar authority
• Anything that looks ‘too good to be true!’

In order to lose weight the right way, you may have to change your habits, you may have to work out more, you may even have to give up something but the change will be long term and worth it.

To know more see Not Losing weight? Here are the hidden reasons!

• Foods to eat: Those who are suffering from hypothyroidism should consume plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, in fact almost 50% of their diet must be natural. Eating fruits and vegetables helps to improve the metabolism and balances hormonal levels. Foods which should be included in your diet are flaxseeds (alsi seeds), carrots, rice, linseed oil, nuts, chicken and fish.
• Iodine rich foods: The Thyroid gland absorbs the iodine in foods and converts it into thyroid hormones- T3 and T4; hence a deficiency of iodine can cause hypothyroidism. To avoid this, foods that are high in iodine should be consumed. However you must not consume iodine supplements, unless recommended by the doctor as too much iodine can be harmful.

To know more see Thyroid and Weight Gain

• Iron – Spinach & Turmeric

Iron is known as the ‘Oxygen Carrier’ of the body. Adolescents or growing children have a higher need for iron, as they are more active and their bodies need more oxygen. A single cup of boiled spinach contains about 6 mg of Iron, which is more than enough to fulfill the daily requirement of Iron. Similarly, Turmeric or ‘Haldi’ is also an excellent source of Iron as just 2 tbsp of it contains almost 2 mg of Iron. 

• Carbohydrates – Brown rice & Raisins

With growing kids who are highly active, their bodies need a higher amount of carbohydrate intake to keep up their energy levels! Brown rice is known to be as one of the best sources of Carbohydrates as it contains 81 gms of carbohydrates per serving. Raisins are also known to be an excellent source of Carbohydrate with 1 cup of raisins containing about 45 gms of Carbohydrates.

To know more such diet requirements see Healthy Foods for Growing Children

• Vegetable Salad: You can carry slices of carrot, cucumber, tomato, cabbage and radish and add some lemon juice to it to give you taste and flavor. Not only will you get closer to the required amount of fiber, you will also get your dose of servings to be consumed in a day.
• Sprout Salad: Soak moong dal, matki, rajma, chana and the other cereals overnight in a clean damp cloth. Add a little of salt (sea salt is a better option), squeeze lemon juice on it. If you want more variety add onion, coriander leaves and tomato to this mixture.
• Buttermilk: There is nothing better than finishing your lunch with a glass of cool chaas. Chaas or buttermilk has proteins, gives you Calcium and is known to aid digestion. Remember to add only a little bit of salt and no sugar. Sprinkling with jeera powder, hing and rock salt gives a good flavor. Remember to carry your chaas in a leak resistant bottle to prevent contamination or the chaas turning sour.

To know more see What makes for a ‘healthy dabba’?

• Eat smart: “If it’s a dosa, I have it minus the potato filling; if I am having eggs, I take only the white portion and if I have idlis I substitute coconut chutney with a pudina chutney”. Bottomline: Watch what you eat!
• Breakfast – a must: Deepika has three main meals in a day, breakfast being the most important of them all. “I can’t do without breakfast. I have a huge breakfast – upma, idlis, dosa, parathas – whatever it is, I eat a lot of it.”
• Homemade food: “During shoots I eat regular homemade food with dal, two rotis, sabzi, raita, salad or sometimes it is non vegetarian food. But if it’s studio food then I stick to idlis and very light food”.

• No rice at night: Deepika strictly makes it a point to avoid rice and non vegetarian food at night.  

To know more see Deepika Padukone’s fitness and weight loss Secrets

• Have a hearty meal and lots of water: About an hour after training, have a complete meal that includes all essential nutrients like complex carbohydrates, minerals, proteins et al in order to repair your damaged muscle tissues. Don’t forget to drink more water after your workout to rehydrate your body.
• Don’t consume fats: Though fat is not bad for your body, in fact it is a necessary part of everyone’s diet (good fats). However, after a workout, fats (whether good or bad) wouldn’t be good to eat as it slows down digestion of protein and carbohydrates.
• Eat as soon as possible: It is best recommended that you have your post work out meal within 30 minutes of coming out of the gym as it is during this time that your body can receive its post workout nutrition.

To know more see Foods to eat before and after a workout

Yes, proteins indeed form an indispensible part of a good health and are an important component of every cell in our body. These build and repair our body tissues and help in the making of essential enzymes and hormones. Moreover, proteins are also known as building blocks of bones, muscles, and cartilage, skin, and blood.

To know more see High Protein diet ideas for complete wellness